BECKLEY — A man is suing the City of Beckley alleging members of its police department violated his constitutional rights.
The City of Beckley; and William Reynolds and Andrew Milam, members of the Beckley Police Department, were all named as defendants in the suit.
Steve Ray Cooper was using his riding lawnmower on Sept. 3, 2021, to mow his neighbor's yard when he noticed cars from the nearby school blocking his driveway, preventing him from taking his riding lawnmower home, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Cooper claims vehicles picking up students from Maxwell Hill Elementary School would regularly line up and block his driveway and he had contacted the Beckley Police Department and city on numerous occasions about the issue, but nothing was ever done about it.
On this occasion, he parked his riding lawnmower across the street from his property on the edge of an adjacent road and approached the cars blocking his driveway in an effort to get them to move their cars, according to the suit.
Cooper claims the cars disbursed and soon after, Reynolds and Milam arrived where he had parked his riding lawnmower and said they were answering a call about a disturbance.
"From the moment [the defendants] encountered Plaintiff, they were aggressive, confrontational and used profane language directed at him," the complaint states.
Cooper claims the defendants accused him of stealing the lawnmower, called him rude names, cursed at him and eventually shoved him down.
Cooper claims when he was shoved and his head struck the ground he lost consciousness and when he awoke he was bleeding profusely from his head and in extreme pain.
The plaintiff was arrested and then later released and went to Raleigh General Hospital for treatment, according to the suit.
Cooper claims the defendants used excessive force, violated his rights and caused him harm.
Cooper is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is represented by Russell A. Williams of New, Taylor & Associates in Beckley.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 5:22-cv-00209